SERVICE-LEARNING ACTION ALERT
Take action now! The Senate is scheduled to decide on funding for
national service and service-learning programs on Tuesday, November 11.
There is strong bipartisan interest in supporting service programs.
** Now is the time to urge your Senator to support a modest increase in
funding for Learn and Serve America. **
It is important that your Senator hear from you by Monday, November 10.
Please copy and paste the text below into a one-page letter, adding
your Senators' names and a personal message to them. Send it by fax or
email to each of your Senators today.
You can find your Senators' contact information at
http://www.congress.org.
We are once again at a critical turning point. Do not hesitate to
contact me if you have questions or need more information. I can be
reached directly at nelda@tmail.com. On behalf of the National
Service-Learning Partnership's Advocacy Committee, I thank you for your continued
support and action.
Nelda Brown
Advocacy Committee Chair
National Service-Learning Partnership
nelda@tmail.com
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November 6, 2003
The Honorable [FirstName] [LastName]
United States Senate
VIA FACSIMILE/EMAIL:
Dear Senator [LastName]:
Please help us save 57,000 students from losing the opportunity to
answer the national call to service, and help us to expand this opportunity
to thousands more.
I write today to ask you to support a $2 million increase in funding
for Learn and Serve America for fiscal year 2004. The Learn and Serve
America program is administered by the Corporation for National and
Community Service (the Corporation) and is part of H.R. 2861, Appropriations
for Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent
Agencies for FY04.
The House version of the VA-HUD appropriations bill cuts funding for
Learn and Serve America by $3 million. I am pleased that the Senate has
included at least level funding of $43 million for fiscal year 2004.
But after a more than a decade of level-funding, service-learning dollars
are stretched thin and reaching far fewer young people than they
should.
Service-learning is a cost-effective educational strategy that turns
the community into a classroom and the classroom into a gateway to
meaningful real-life experiences. Service-learning helps schools achieve
high civic and character standards for all students and helps young people
make real world connections between their studies and solving community
problems and civic life.
Learn and Serve America is a national, competitive grant program that
currently engages more than 1.3 million young people in service-learning
activities each year, with an average of more than 60 hours of service
completed by each student. Former Senator John Glenn, chair of the
National Commission on Service-Learning, called service-learning "the
single best way to educate young people for active citizenship in a
democracy."
Your support for the higher level of funding included in the Senate
version is needed now. In addition, I urge you to support an additional
increase of $2 million. These funds will be used to provide much-needed
research and technical assistance for Learn and Serve America students,
teachers and their community partners, including resources to prepare
practitioners to link service-learning to the teaching of American
history, civics, and civic education.
During these uncertain times, we must preserve and protect democracy.
Citizen service is at the heart of American traditions and is a
worthwhile investment of your support and commitment. Increasing
appropriations for Learn and Serve America will give more young people the
knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to become engaged citizens, active
learners, and productive workers.
Thank you for your consideration.